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For the last several years I’ve been building software businesses in the epicenter of the tech industry. The experience has been many things (fun, challenging, exhilarating, exhausting), but mostly educational. The intersection of speed and scale you see everyday in the Bay Area is almost unbelievable, except it’s very real indeed. Over the past five years I’ve met more new millionaires than I can recall, and worked with a few billionaires along the way. It’s an era of my career (and life) I’ll always appreciate. But it’s time to move on.

The Tech Gap

One common theme from this season of life has been “every company is a tech company”. Surely we’ve heard that one, right? Heck, many of us have said it aloud and most have no choice but to believe it on some level. But here’s the rub: I’ve listened to dozens of executives from companies in nearly every industry as they expressed crippling FOMO amid innovation that looks eerily like the stuff of science fiction, while my peers and leaders watched dumbfounded by their customers’ presumed inability to move forward. It’s a painful experience I’ve taken to calling the “tech gap”.

I’ve struggled with how to address this “tech gap” for a couple of years now, and it’s only widening. The “haves” are building a future, while the “have nots” are clinging to a present that cannot continue to exist. I’ll spare you the allegories and trust that you see it too….

Time for a change

So, with that as a backdrop, I’ll stop rambling and get to the point: I’m leaving Google to make a bigger impact.

I firmly believe that the industry most ripe for impact is healthcare. It’s complex, monolithic, interdependent, lethargic, and directly involved in everyone’s life. What a mess, right? Well, while we’re at it, let’s shift gears just a bit to tackle non-profit, faith-based healthcare…. I can’t wait to get started!

Tomorrow morning I’ll show up to my first day at Ascension Health, and everyday thereafter I’ll be serving with some of the best leaders I know on a mission to transform a 400-year old institution with over 170,000 employees and 2,500 sites of care around the world. I couldn’t be more excited about this opportunity to watch our work directly translate into care for millions of people – regardless of their ability to pay. Direct, powerful, impact.

This gig lines up with my values, skills, and experience so perfectly that I can’t help believing it’s a calling. I also believe it will require a community of practice, so if you’re in my network expect to hear from me in the coming months. I appreciate all the great people at Google, Pivotal, and Savvis who helped me learn the ins and outs of an incredible industry. Now it’s time to apply it where the world needs it most!

It’s becoming apparent, slowly (surprise), that I deal with a lot of negative people every day. I’m willing to bet you see the same thing. Right now, I don’t have any hard data behind this observation, but I’m hoping you can help there. I’m going to make a statement and ask a follow-up question. All you need to do is give an honest answer. Sound good?

The Statement

Do what makes sense.

The Question

What is the call to action in the statement above?

The Point

If you’re like most of the people I’ve “surveyed”, upon reading the imperative to “Do what makes sense”, you immediately think you’ve just been told to not do what doesn’t make sense. Or maybe to stop doing non-sensical things. Full disclosure: I often make the same mental leap. And that’s a shame.

It’s a shame that, in the face of indecision or even crisis, we fail to act with common sense. We fail out of fear of making a mistake, or of doing something that we won’t be able to justify to Monday morning quarterbacks. We fail because we are afraid of failure. Truly, that is a pity.

In the 21st century, more than at any point in history, we can see example after example of successful people and companies who fail. Failing fast is a badge of honor among the business and technical elite. Why, then, do we remain frozen with fear of failure?

The Challenge

I challenge everyone reading (and writing) this post to take a step out of fear’s shadow. The next time you are faced with a decision, take two simple steps:

Identify what makes sense. Not what makes the most/best sense. Keep the litmus test simple by asking yourself “Could I explain the logic behind this decision in a sentence or two?”

Do it. Now that you’ve identified what makes sense, follow through and act. If you want to get something “done”, you have to get something “started”. When you need a win, stop planning and start doing.

That’s it. A simple way to leave fear and negativity behind you, and make progress. Will you fail? Maybe. Will you succeed? I hope so! But, that’s not really the point. The point is, simply, to do what makes sense.

It occurs to me, and is further reinforced this excellent post on Tech Crunch, that selling software to the enterprise is becoming a losing proposition. It may take a while to dry up, but the big splashes are getting fewer and farther between. This type of sea change always reminds me of that scene in The Matrix where Neo is schooled by a young boy who tells him, simply, “Do not try and bend the spoon. That’s impossible. Instead… only try to realize the truth…. There is no spoon.” The IT industry, like Neo, may need some time to internalize this new reality. The biggest winners, though, will be the companies who most quickly realize the truth: There is no enterprise software market.

Traditional enterprise software is dying as a market, but that doesn’t keep startups from trying to liberate coins from enterprise coffers. That’s a great idea, because that’s where the money is. But, here’s the thing: There are few forces at play that are kind of a big deal. Enterprises still need vendors, just not necessarily for (only) software.

Software keeps eating the world. Every company has to either get great at engaging their customers with software (apps) or lose. The same holds true for enterprise vendors.

Open source software is flat out better. Enterprises are so over proprietary vendor software. They know, with confidence growing at an exponential rate, that they can solve their technical problems with leftovers from Google, Netflix, Amazon, etc.

DevOps is the next “best practice” that will legitimately draw a line between winners and losers. As its simpler cousin, agility, proved, they can either adapt or die. Coding faster doesn’t help if you can’t deliver on (or, more accurately, respond to) customer expectations on their timeframe.

Customer expectations for adoption, integration, and business have been forever changed by mature SaaS offerings. As enterprises continue to rely less on building the supporting infrastructure they need, their desire for turnkey solutions has grown insatiable. Savvy companies are forcing themselves to rethink how to differentiate from competitors and focus all their attention in that area.

Speed of innovation at every layer of the technology stack is approaching Moore’s Law proportions. Enterprises, and their vendors too, can’t keep up. It’s easier, cheaper, faster, and more efficient to let someone else try to keep up with it while they reap the rewards to execute on their business goals.

What does it all mean?

The successful enterprise vendor of the future will need to serve the market with much more than software.

Serving the market, in this case the enterprise market, means building a powerhouse open source company that builds, runs and understands open source software. It means being able (and flexible enough) to provide a SaaS experience, simple in terms of business and integration. It morphs “SaaS” into “Service-as-a-Service”, counting as a simple detail whether people, process, and technology are on premise, co-located, hosted, whatever.

The value enterprises want/need/expect is expertise to bring them to the leading (but not bleeding) edge and keep them there, so they can run their business. It’s the natural extension from agility to DevOps and the right products/tools to make it happen. It’s just as critical to have thought-leadership-as-a-service, with an accompanying “warranty”, as having the right products to solve their current technical challenges. That’s the new product/market fit.

How do we fix it?

The past (current?) model of selling multi-year software licenses, leaves the buyer unable to keep up with the pace of innovation in their stack. They have learned that they are behind the curve before their purchase is even installed. If their vendor can’t continuously deliver updates to their stack, they’re just buying a new bottleneck.

Simply selling software doesn’t offer the capabilities that a modern enterprise needs to remain competitive. The new enterprise vendor is going to be have to monetize a brand new business model: one that blurs the lines between software, managed services, outsourcing, and consulting and can be continuously delivered anywhere (or everywhere, even).

If vendors want to win in the enterprise software market, it’s time to embrace a future where that market doesn’t even exist. It’s time to take continuous delivery to a new level. It’s time to realize that the recipe for success in a post-proprietary world is “People first. The rest is code. Win together.”

It seems every technology company is hiring right now. At my day job, I interview at least one candidate every day. When I’m not interviewing people, I’m receiving emails and phone calls and LinkedIn requests from other technology companies who need my help. While it’s very flattering to be in high demand, I’m humble enough to realize that it’s not about me. The truth is there simply aren’t enough software people to go around. I think we can (and should) fix that.

I’ve always referred to myself as “self-taught”. I’ve learned everything I know about software (and hardware, and networking, and security, etc) outside of a classroom. My first job at a technology company flipped a switch in my brain. I immediately fell in love with the creative nature of software development. This new-found passion grew into an insatiable appetite for understanding, and I read and experimented at a feverish pace. All of this motivation and initiative, while respectable, does not make me “self-taught”.

The truth is that no one can teach themselves. If I’m honest in my self assessment, I can list dozens of teachers who helped mold me into the technologist I am today. I’ve had hundreds of conversations and whiteboard sessions with some of the most brilliant minds around. I’ve worked thousands of hours, paired with real “rock stars” solving incredibly difficult problems. I’ve read books and websites and spent countless late nights of fighting with compilers… all of which were written by someone else. I am where I am today because I stood on the shoulders of giants. And so did you.

There’s a cartoon that I’ve seen several times on the web. It’s one of those funny-because-it’s-true situations. In it, an HR person is complaining about the difficulty of their charge: “We’re looking for someone with the wisdom of a 50-year old, the experience of a 40-year old, the drive of a 30-year old and the payscale of a 20-year old.” They almost have it right. Where it breaks down, I’d argue, is that your company (and mine) already has plenty of wise 50-year olds, experienced 40-year olds, and driven 30-year olds. What we should be looking for are young people who can benefit from our existing strengths. We don’t need wisdom, experience, or drive. We need a future.

If we are going to keep the explosive growth going in the technology sector, it is our responsibility to provide a new generation with shoulders to stand on. We can no longer afford to be shortsighted, seeking the perfect fit for a job that is described in two full pages of acronym soup. We must take the long view. We have to grow our own software talent. Not just because we can’t find them elsewhere, but because it is our responsibility. We don’t have to make this happen overnight, though. We can start solving this problem just like we did when we were getting started in this game. We can conduct a simple experiment.

The Experiment

If you are involved in the hiring process at your company, I propose you stop focusing on resumes, skills, and experience. The next time you can influence a hiring decision, look for attitude and aptitude. In my experience, the most difficult quality to find is passion. A close second is optimism. Find those two qualities, and make your move. My prediction for how this will work out? It’s hard to say, but I’ll bet on one of two outcomes:

Your new hire will save the company money (experience is expensive), make a positive impact on culture (a zeal for learning is infectious), and re-engage your seasoned veterans (there’s no hiding from passion).

You’ll find out that the high-priced, experienced specialist is the only type of worker who can help your company, and you’ll have to seriously reconsider your ability to scale your business.

Maybe it’s a senior-level engineer who seems burned out. Maybe it’s a disaffected young dreamer, railing against the corporate machine. Or maybe it’s an “80-percenter”, content to live out their days in the cube farm, while the other 20% deliver. If you’ve been in any type of leadership role, you’ve no doubt been challenged to “light a fire” in an underperforming team member. I have an idea that just may help you…

You’ve been there, right? Where you seem to try everything, but you still can’t seem to get through to them. It’s so common, it’s become acceptable to just give up. We’ve been conditioned to believe that there is a certain (large) percentage of the workforce who is not going to be productive. “They can’t all be rockstars, right?”

Wrong.

It’s about caring

What we’re seeing, time and again, is a fundamental disconnect between the mission and the people. We’re getting blinded by spreadsheets and deadlines, distracted from our call as leaders. It’s back-to-basics time. Time to circle back to the fundamentals.

Two simple, powerful truths are at play here, and when we accept these two tenets as fact, we move beyond attempting to “light a fire”, and focus on “kindling flames”.

Everyone cares about something, and

No one can force another to care about anything.

Performance, then, is an outcome of internal motivation. No amount of coaching will lead to maximum productivity when there is no passion. Certainly people can “push” themselves, but that’s not sustainable.

It’s time to stop trying to find a trick that will motivate people to do work they don’t care about. It’s time to find the value in the work they do care about, and free them up to do it. Here’s what works for me:

Be what you want to see.Everyone gravitates toward their calling, and you need to do the same. Be honest with yourself: Is leadership your passion? If you don’t care about poor performance, a poor performer won’t either. Lead by example, and do what you care about.

See what your people see. You’re reading this and leading people because you care about it. Why are your people doing what they do (or not doing what they don’t)? One simple behavior will simultaneously show people you care and uncover what they care about: Listen.

Make your “show” match your “tell”. As in all interactions, you need to be clear, transparent, and consistent. Your people need to trust that you care. Demonstrate by letting them drive their work, even on something trivial at first. You have nothing to lose (performance is suffering already, right?) and you may be surprised with the results.

Focus together on the big picture. Explain (and be sure you understand) there will be growing pains. We are looking for a way to do what we love, but sometimes you have to “grin and bear it”. Just beware the patterns and hold each other accountable. Commit to caring for each other enough to keep communication open, and be honest if it looks like either of you is backsliding.

Stay focused on the goal together. As performance improves, you may find that you’ve got a happy person who can’t help your team accomplish its mission. That’s okay. Now that you have established trust, you can work together to explore other projects, teams, departments, locations, companies, industries that might work. This doesn’t mean “manage them out”. It means life is too short to be miserable.

Sometimes we all need to remember the fundamentals. I hope this helps you as much as it does me. If you feel like you’re trying too hard to motivate people, maybe you are. It’s time to stop “trying” and start “caring”. I’ve seen it work. Have you?

Personal branding is about communication. Sending a message is easier today than at any point in human history. It’s fast, efficient, and (mostly) free. The Internet and social media allow us to connect with like-minded people around the globe. We can discover talented people, learn from industry experts, and share insights we’ve gained. The scale of it all can be overwhelming if you try to jump in without a plan. This post aims to help you gain comfort as you start your journey into personal branding.

I’ll start with a confession. I’m new at this. I don’t have years of experience with social media marketing. I’ve never been a blogger with thousands of subscribers, and I just finally surpassed 100 followers on Twitter.

So, why am I writing about this? Well, I think you can benefit from my experience of just getting started. The lessons I’ve learned are fresh and relevant. If you’re reading this, you’re connecting with me, and I am my brand. That’s the real point here. If you take nothing else from this post, remember this: Your brand is you.

What is a personal brand?

You are already building a personal brand. Every time you interact with someone, you are communicating your brand. These interactions (both word and deed) establish expectations for others. Given time and consistency, people will grow more and more comfortable that they can trust you to meet their expectations. That trust is the most powerful outcome of building a brand. The definition of a personal brand, then, is “a consistent set of expectations held toward you”.

Build the foundation first

The relative ease of electronic communication allows us to interact with greater frequency and reach every day. That is, at once, a wonderful and frightening reality. Before we dive in to using the web for personal branding, we need to establish a firm foundation. This will be the basis that helps us achieve the consistency we seek. Without it, our communication on the Internet will only serve to confuse our audience.

Understand yourself first.This is about communicating who you are. You cannot build a brand by pretending you are someone you are not. Know yourself. Be yourself. All the time.

Communicate with people.Before you start using the Internet to build your brand, realize that there are real people on the other end of all those connections. Act accordingly.

Consistency begins at home.Remember the definition of a personal brand. Don’t let the Internet craft your message for you. Be who you are at home first.

Appreciate persistence.What you say on the Internet can exist forever. This is not a simple warning. It means new people can engage with you all the time. That’s powerful.

Practice appropriate cadence.You may be tempted to share a flood of ideas with people right away. That’s natural. Building a brand, though, is a marathon. Pace yourself and be consistent.

Seek connection, not metrics.Another temptation is to track your success against a number (like Twitter followers). Don’t fall in the trap. Remember, you are connecting with people.

This is not a broadcast.Building a brand is a two-way street. You’re establishing expectations. Do you want people to expect to be “talked at”?

As the title of this post says, personal branding is simple, not easy. There are only a few steps required to start building a consistent set of expectations. Those steps aren’t easy, though. You have to be ready for the answers you find as you examine yourself. You have to be intentional about consistency. You are going to need to apply faith and hustle. Are you ready?

Throughout human history, teams have been chasing the thrill of victory. Armies, companies, and sports teams put in hours of training and build years of experience in pursuit of winning. Nothing I can write will obviate the need for all of that hard work, but no amount of effort can guarantee you’ll come out on top. There is, however, a single key. Without it, I can assure you that success will always elude your team.

As a firm believer in talent mobility, I’ve worked with teams of all sizes in large and small organizations, across a variety of industries. One benefit of my varied background is the diversity of perspectives to which I’ve been exposed. What a blessing to have had the opportunity to learn from so many others!

I wish I could say that every one of my endeavors had met with success. Sadly, I cannot, and I’m fine with that. The educational value of my experiences with each team is beyond measure. Here’s what I’ve learned: The Key to Success lies in its Definition.

That’s it? Yup. Your team will never win if they are not working toward a single definition of success. It sounds simple, because it is. Yet, time and again throughout my career, I’ve seen teams of smart, hard working people fail because they didn’t define success. Don’t let it happen to you!

Here’s a cheat sheet to help your team:

The definition has to come first. We’ve all known for a long time that you have to prioritize your work, right? Well, defining success for your team is the top priority for any effort. If you’re playing poker, it comes before table stakes. If you’re playing golf, it comes before paying greens fees. If you’re working on a project, it comes before Sprint 0. Do it first.

There can be only one definition. The entire team must work toward a single, common definition for success. Different ideas can, and should, contribute to the definition. Once a decision has been made, though, the team has to work together to achieve success. If this is a stumbling block, your team may be trying to do too much, or may need to divide and conquer.

Success must be measurable. This isn’t to say that your team’s definition of success must be quantitative. A perfectly reasonable definition for success might be: “Mrs. Smith will like the web site”. Irrespective of the unit of measurement, your team needs to understand what success “looks like”, so they’ll know it when they see it.

The definition must be communicated. Certainly, your whole team needs to understand what it means to be successful. Beyond that, I’d argue that you should share your definition of success with every stakeholder. Being transparent in your communication allows your team to focus on achieving and preempts second guessing during the decision making process. When your motives are clear and understood, you can focus on delivering.

The definition needs to be central. Every conversation, meeting, or decision should be made in light of your definition of success. All of your hard work needs to contribute to success. I highly recommend kicking off every practice, every meeting, every demo by declaring your team’s definition of success. Stay focused. See the same picture all the time.

I hope this helps your team. It certainly helps me to remember this fundamental lesson. Even after all of the times I’ve seen teams fall short without it, I’m still guilty of diving in without this core component.

One final hint, on that note: If you’re on a team who doesn’t know what success looks like, stop now to define it. The pause will enable future acceleration. Your team and your stakeholders will thank you. Does your team have a definition of success?